


Paper Airplanes

by Heart_Wrenchers



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Camp Counselor Jasper (Camp Camp), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Jasper Acting As Max's Parental Figure (Camp Camp), Jasper Lives (Camp Camp), Mental Institutions, Mentorship, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, They're mentioned - Freeform, jasper has Been Through Some Shit, max is having a hard time :'(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27672862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heart_Wrenchers/pseuds/Heart_Wrenchers
Summary: Jasper discovers that Max has a concerning habit, so he steps in. They bond.Pretty much all dialogue and I'm sorry.
Kudos: 31





	Paper Airplanes

Seven o'clock rolled around and the first campers shambled their ways into the mess hall. Jasper made quiet conversation as he served them. Nerris and Ered were the first ones in, as usual, with some of the boys fining in shortly after. David came in half past with Space Kid asleep on his shoulder.

“Hey, Jasp!” He said in a chipper but hushed tone. “Space Kid just did not want to get up this morning, so I thought I’d let him sleep in a bit more. I’m sure the smell of pancakes will wake him up in no time!”

As if on cue, Space Kid raised his head and rubbed his eyes. David had convinced him not to wear his helmet while sleeping for safety reasons, and it saved him the trouble of working it off in the morning for breakfast. David eased him onto one of the bench seats where Jasper had already laid out his plate. 

“Wheres Gwen?” He asked while continuing his duties, David buzzing along behind him saying his good-mornings.

“Oh, you know, still sleeping off her hangover. I told her not to go ham with that new recipe she found.” David sighed. “Well, I’m going to play some tunes because she's not here to stop me!” with that he settled over by the window with his guitar.

Jasper did a headcount at eight, realizing there was still one missing. It was then he noticed that Neil and Nikki were seated without Max. Jasp headed over to serve him and offer Nikki thirds.

“You see Max on your way over?” he asked casually, waving a pancake with his tongs over Nikki as she snapped up at it. Neil shrugged. 

“He said he wasn’t hungry yet and that he wanted to sleep in. I tend not to question it when he's an ass this early in the morning.” Neil explained with a shrug as he watched Nikki shake about her prize like a dog with a new toy. 

Jasper thanked him before finishing his round of servings. Once everyone seemed satisfied he slipped out and strolled to the ring of tents. With a quiet step, he approached Max and Neil’s tent to listen. Within he heard quiet, frantic cursing and the clattering of some sort of container. Jasper poked his head in to see that was up.

Max had his back to the opening and was standing in front of his cot, rifling through a first aid kit. With his sleeves rolled up for once Jasper could see an array of scars old and new. On one wrist there was a particularly bad slash that Max appeared to be trying to patch.

“Need help?” Jasper asked calmly, kneeling in. With a startled yelp Max turned, knocking the kit onto the floor and cursing loudly. Jasper’s own surprised expression gave way to a calm but serious one. 

“What the FUCK, Jasper?!” He shouted, quickly hiding his arms behind his back as he tried to work his sleeves down. Jasper just sighed and shuffled forward, holding his hand out. Reluctantly, Max offered it.

“You do this often?” He asked calmly as he cleaned and patched the wound. Max didn’t answer, his face flushed with embarrassment and shame. When he finished Max settled on his cot with his knees to his chest, pulling up his hood and pulling the tassels to close it. Jasper sat beside the cot and put away the other scattered supplies. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jasper could hear Max trying to contain his sobs but decided to keep giving him space. When Max had calmed down some he unfolded a little. He released the tension on his hood enough to wipe his face with his sleeve. 

“Are you ready to talk about this?” Jasper asked quietly. Max sniffled and nodded, expression tense. “Good. I know you know how serious this is. You are a smart kid, Max, so I won’t baby you. Does Neil know?”

“Fuck no, you think he wouldn’t rat me out for something like this?” Max snapped. Jasper glanced over, noticing Max was rubbing the ear of his bear and glanced away again.

“Fair enough. I know he cares too much about you to keep a secret like that,” He reasoned. “So David also doesn’t know. He’s fuss over you more than he already does.”

That pulled a long groan from Max and he buried his face into his folded arms. He gave a stressed laugh which morphed into a growl of frustration. “I didn’t mean fo this one- for it to be so bad. Quartermaster dropped his pocket knife and I figured I would use that because it's small, but I guess I got nervous and slashed myself more than… I was expecting. I panicked and-” Jasper placed a hand on his back to calm him some.

“Hey, I get it. You aren’t in trouble, ok? I’m just worried. You’re lucky that won’t need stitches and wasn’t close to anything vital, but I am going to have to take that knife.” he spoke firmly. Max pulled the small folding knife from his pocket and placed it in the counselor’s palm. Jasper then slipped it into his own pocket. “So… How long has this been going on?”

“I don’t know. A year, maybe? At first, it wasn't intentional, I just didn’t care if I got hurt. Then it became more so…” Max trailed off. “I don’t know, it's fucking stupid.”

“Max, it may be tough, but I would like to hear your thought. Hear what you’re feeling.” Jasper assured him. He gently began to rub Max’s back, which seemed to ease him a little. “Believe it or not, when I was you are I went through a similar struggle to this. I know how it feels.”

“Really?” Max perked up, the shock causing his glossy eyes to widen. “I didn’t think- I don’t know. This just seems like a stupid girly problem.”

Jasper thwacked Max gently on the back of the head. “Hey, don’t be sexist. That's a very rude misconception thinking this is just something girls post about on the internet for attention. It's serious for all sorts of people.” Jasper scolded. “Be serious, please. I became more what?”

“More intentional,” Max admitted. “I wanted to feel the pain for some reason. It made me feel… Something, Something like-”

“Like in control?” Jasper suggested.

“Yeah, I guess.” Max shrugged. He eased off the cot so he could begin to pace the small length of the tent. “Things just get so frustrating. I just need to relieve some tension. It's the only fucking way I feel like I can when things get so crazy. ts exhilarating, comforting, but that feeling never… stays.” he nervously scratched at his sleeve. 

“It’s just a momentary gain, but not really worth it, huh?” Jasper reasoned further. “What about the hobbies you’ve acquired at camp. You like to knit. You can make a pattern out of anything.”

“I ran out of yarn and I haven’t wanted to bother David to get more,” Max admitted.

“Then we’ll find something else you can focus on. In the meantime,” he offered his hand again. “May I see your arms properly? I want to check your other wounds.”

Max rolled up his sleeves with a roll of his eyes. Most of the wounds were small and erratic. Small scars of what appeared to be cuts and scratches, as well as what could have been a few burns. None were of the size of the most recent one. Relief filled Jasper’s body for a moment. “Is there anywhere else you do this?”

“Not really, no,” Max stated before pausing. “Ok, well, there's a few on my legs, but not like this.” 

“Ok, I’ll trust you on that. Not really certified to do a strip search.” He released Max’s arms after the inspection. “As I said, I struggled with this between the ages of 11 and 20. I didn’t really stop until around two years ago. Crazy, right? I’ve been hospitalized and committed due to these habits, and caused my family a lot of grief.”

Max scoffed. “’Least you family cared. My parents never give a shit about anything I do.” Despite his wide grimace tears welled in his eyes again.

“That’s unfortunate and I’m sorry,” Jasper stated, “I hope you feel like you have better support here.”

“Well, I’m talking more about thin than I thought I ever would,” Max admitted, crossing his arms defensively. “What convinced you to stop?”

“Years of therapy giving me tools, a couple of close-calls, and a good support system. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle sometimes. The feelings didn’t magically go away when I turned 22. I just… Learned.” Jasper explained. “David has been a really supportive constant for me. He’s been my best friend for a long time now, but I only started telling him about it around then. Having that bond with him was the last nudge I needed to finally convince me. It’s not the only reason, but it’s a good one for me, I think.”

“You two are… SOO fucking gay.” Max pointed out with another groan. This got a scoff from Jasper.

“I wish. I don’t think I could convince David to date me if I tried.” He shrugged with resignation. 

“Ok, Shut up, you are clearly STUPID if you think that. David literally will NOT shut up about you when he's not glued to your fucking hip! How can you be so out of touch?!” Max went off. Despite his words, both he and Jasper started to relax. 

“Alright, scrapper, we’d better head to the mess hall before David sends a search party,” Jasper raised his hands in defeat. A relieved smile rested on his lips. “You feeling better enough for pancakes?”

“Yeah, I think so. Thank… Jasper.” He offering a small smile before heading out. “Can we keep this between us for now? I promise I’ll… try to stop.”

“I will, but I’ll hold you to that. Expect me checking up on you from now on.” Jasper stated firmly as he ducked out of the tent. Max nodded in agreement.

Together they strolled to the mess hall making more banter. Despite his usual aggressive air, Jasper felt noticeable ease to Max’s energy he hoped would stay; Stay longer than it did for him.

**Author's Note:**

> This is very self-indulgent and based on the overall Dadjaspvid AU I have. Help, I have so many fics outlined and they're all sad.   
> Also, why do I only write if I haven't slept in 20+ hours?


End file.
